ST. LOUIS — The amount of scam text messages being sent is on the rise nationwide as approximately 11.6 billion scam texts were sent over U.S. wireless networks this past March, which is a 30% increase from February.
That’s according to data from anti-spam firm Teltech. In March, Robokiller estimated the average U.S. mobile customer received 42 scam texts.
Receiving spam text messages is known as smishing, which “is a form of phishing that uses mobile phones as the attack platform to gather personal details, like SSN or a credit card number,” according to Scott Schaffer, chief information security officer at Blade Technologies, Inc.
A smishing text could look like it is coming from a four or five-digit number or an email address that could contain a malicious link.
By clicking on the link, Schaffer said a scammer could load malware onto the receiver’s phone to harvest their credentials, or track everything they type, or it could lead them to a malicious website that may appear normal and prompt them to type in personal…
